James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
From our UK edition
Westminster is convinced that Gordon Brown is the political beneficiary, at least in the short-term, of the current financial turmoil. Brown looks more energised and confident than he has in a long time, the rebellion within the Labour party has been quashed, and the Tories are in a bind. They have to be supportive of
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Today’s WSJ reports that almost one in six US homeowners now owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. 16 percent now do so compared to 4 percent in 2006. Among those who purchased their residence in the last five years, the figure rises to 29 percent. One wonders what the equivalent UK
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The polling news for the McCain campaign right now is grim. Yesterday, two polls in Virginia had Obama over 50 percent and ahead by double-digits; McCain pretty much has to win the Old Dominion to get to 270. Nearly all the toss-up states are now leaning to Obama, while states where McCain had a mild
From our UK edition
As Matt notes, there is now a truce in the Labour party; the reshuffle has earned Brown the right to die another day. When you look at the reshuffle it becomes clear that Brown has appeased every faction in the Labour party: the Blairites get Mandelson back and McBride moved upstairs, Compass get Jon Trickett
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I don’t think anyone disputes that Mandelson used to not have a very high opinion of Brown’s premiership. As Danny blogged on Sunday, the Corfu story was in circulation before Mandelson’s shock return but not considered particularly surprising by anybody. But if Kevin Maguire is to be believed, Mandelson was still sticking the knife into
From our UK edition
Jackie Ashley coins the telling phrase ‘Emergency Labour’ to describe the party post-Mandelson’s return. Looking at the reshuffle as a whole one is struck by how little ideological direction there is to it. It does not mark, whatever the headline appearances might suggest, a return to Blairism. Yes, Mandelson is back but at the same
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‘This is no time for a novice’ was undoubtedly the line of the conference season. It is the one that people will remember six months from now. But the effectiveness of it will to a significant extent depend on events outside of Brown or Cameron’s control. It looks as if the US presidential race is
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So frequently does one hear of public money being wasted that it is all too easy to become inured to it. But the Sunday Telegraph’s revelation that the head of Newham council, Joe Duckworth, is paid £240,000 a year should be enough to shock anyone out of their complacency about waste. It is quite simply
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Sarah Plain survived the VP debate on Thursday night but the trajectory of the race still favours Obama-Biden. If things continue as they are, they will win in something approaching a landslide on November fourth. Over the last few weeks, Obama has built a sizable national poll lead, the polling average puts him 5.7 percent
From our UK edition
After the Labour conference in Manchester, Iain Martin wrote a very funny post imagining how the whole Ruth Kelly 3am resignation might have leaked out because the Peroni in the bar run out. As with all the best satires, it was the element of truth in it that made it so funny: there was an
From our UK edition
One of the things that has most worried the Blairites in recent weeks was that in 2010 they would be blamed for Labour’s loss. Their fear was that the party would lurch to the left, burying New Labour, as a left-wing challenger blamed them for the factionalism and in-fighting of the last few years. The
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Just hours after Mandelson’s return had been reported, the Tories blasted out a document full of cutting remarks Mandelson had made about Brown. It was an impressively comprehensive list—there’s a lot of material to cover—but the Tories should cease and desist from this line of attack. In his press conference, Brown was spinning the past
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Kevin Maguire’s post earlier today showed that some Brownites are not happy about the return of that arch-Blairite Mandelson. Benjamin Wegg-Proser’s demonstrates that some Blairities can’t resist the chance to goad the Brownites. This comment from Wegg-Prosser is not going to encourage détente between the camp followers of the two factions: “Gordon Brown’s acolytes have
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Second-time round, the House has approved the Paulson plan with it passing by 263 votes to 171. It remains to be seen if this will actually succeed in freeing up the credit market.
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Comment Central has asked various Times contributors if bringing back Peter Mandelson is a masterstroke or a mistake. Matthew Parris’s answer to the question is so good it deserves to be quoted in full: “The masterstroke may come from Mr Mandelson himself, but later. As for the PM’s possible mistake, is it a mistake for
From our UK edition
Bringing back Peter Mandelson and sidelining Damian McBride has not gone down well with some of the more hard-core Brownites. Kevin Maguire savages the Mandelson appointment, arguing that it makes Brown look weak, weak, weak: If Gordon Brown hopes people have forgotten who Peter Mandelson was he will be badly mistaken. Both will hate the
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Gordon Brown’s decision to create a new department of Energy and Climate Change and place one of his most talented protégés in charge of it is a sign that Labour plan to make a major push on the issue. This should worry the Tories. Tory energy policy is far too woolly at the moment; the
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Just in case he doesn’t, here is a reminder for him: “Hellooo Mr. Frog!” called the scorpion across the water, “Would you be so kind as to give me a ride on your back across the river?” “Well now, Mr. Scorpion! How do I know that if I try to help you, you wont try
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Well, who thought that Brown had it in him? The return of Peter Mandelson to the Cabinet is the kind of bold move that Brown has seemed incapable of making since becoming Prime Minister. It, along with the apparent departure of Damian McBride, sends out a message that Brown is going to try and rise
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The insta-polls are scoring the VP debate to Joe Biden but theMcCain campaign will be mighty relieved that Palin got through the evening without making any major gaffes. The question now is can Palin proceed to regain control of her public initiative and get back to being an asset for the Republican ticket.